


She Likes You

by AccioInvisibilityCloak



Category: Lovely Little Losers
Genre: 5 + 1 Things, F/F, Fluff, Heavy mention of alcohol, Prompt Fill, alternating povs, awkward crushes, university aged kids partying
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-08
Updated: 2016-06-08
Packaged: 2018-07-13 22:17:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,998
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7139828
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AccioInvisibilityCloak/pseuds/AccioInvisibilityCloak
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>...Or, Five Moments Jaquie and Rosa Almost Had at Balthazar's Party, and One They Finally Did.</p>
            </blockquote>





	She Likes You

**Author's Note:**

> Written for an Anon who prompted on tumblr: Rosa/Jaquie, "Hey, I was gonna eat that!" And then this fic took on a life of its own, haha. Enjoy!

*******

1.

Jaquie is bored.

Leave it to Costa to get overexcited and drive them both to the party two hours early. Honestly, she can’t take him anywhere. Right now he’s exclaiming over the atmosphere created by the fairy lights back in the living room, wondering if he should ask to borrow them for Faustus set-dressing. Jaquie, helping herself to the chips and guacamole on the table between them, fights the urge to roll her eyes and slouches in her kitchen chair, watching the girl who is currently setting up the drinks bar for tonight.

She’s tall, her dark red hair piled into a frizzy bun on top of her head. Her shoulders are bare in her tight-fitting green velvet dress that squeezes her chest while flaring out into a loose, floaty skirt that dips down to her knees. Jaquie can’t help but stare as the girl – Rosa Jones, she has to be, she has the same pointed nose and slightly uncomfortable expression as her younger brother—leans down to reach a six-pack of beers on the bottom-most shelf of the refrigerator with the googly eyes. (Sometimes Jaquie could swear that Peter’s flatmates must be literal five-year-olds. She doesn’t know how he puts up with it.)

Anyway, Jaquie has her metaphorical fingers crossed that the other girl is queer too, because her heart is positively fluttering and she’s tired of being single. She translates her crush into a grumpy glare across the room, pretending to be staring at nothing because she’s annoyed with Costa.

Rosa Jones straightens up just then and turns around. She fixes Costa with a first-class _you have to be kidding me_ expression and actually does roll her green eyes at him. Jaquie’s pretty sure she’s in love.

Both with Rosa and with the guacamole, because damn.

“You two are a little early,” Rosa says sardonically, coming over to the table. “I hope you can keep yourselves busy for a while, the others are still getting ready.”

Jaquie doesn’t miss the way Rosa’s eyes travel up and down her body on the word “busy”. She smirks to herself, triumphantly.

Rosa gets tired of waiting for an answer. “I’ll see you around,” she says, sounding bored, and heads off towards the living room. “And just so you know, this guacamole’s got nothing on the genuine article. I’ve been to Mexico. I know what I’m talking about.”

Jaquie mutters, “I’ll bet you do.”

She’s so busy watching her go that she almost doesn’t notice the guacamole has disappeared. “Hey, I was eating that!”

 

2.

Rosa’s pretty sure the girl in the wicker fedora and daisy-patterned black dress is trying to flirt with her.

She doesn’t usually date younger people, they’re always annoyingly inexperienced. But Jaquie is pretty cute, and for a nineteen-year-old, she really knows her way around a cocktail. Over the party music, Jaquie shouts that she’s a bartender, and she wouldn’t mind mixing drinks for people if Rosa would give her their orders.

As more and more people arrive, Jaquie’s presence is a godsend. She seems to be having a ball making sure no guest is left without a drink in hand. Rosa is begrudgingly impressed.

Both with Jaquie’s skills, and with the sheer number of uni friends her little brother seems to have acquired, even without her bringing Kel along. It occurs to her that Jaquie might think Kel is her date, and she cringes. That’s all she needs, more people assuming she’s straight.

Anyway, she keeps working with Jaquie until the crowd in the flat is all liquored and beer-ed up, goosebumps rising on her arms every time Jaquie’s fingers brush past her own. This is going to be a problem, Rosa thinks as Jaquie smiles at her with pearly teeth, and she notes the flecks of gold in Jaquie’s brown eyes. This is going to be a very big problem.

Thankfully, next moment she spots Beatrice and Meg sitting on a couch across the living room, and seizes her chance, waving absently at Jaquie and making her escape. She takes care to rearrange her face into its usual bored expression before she sits down with the girls. Meg is frighteningly good at spotting other people’s crushes, and Rosa really doesn’t need that right now.

This is why she likes traveling so much more than staying put. No complications. No strings.

 

3.

Jaquie ends up in the middle of the living room with Paige and Chelsey, dancing their hearts out. She tries to forget about Rosa’s rejection from earlier. It’s nothing. There will be other cute people.

This is her favorite song, so Jaquie swallows her disappointment and throws herself into the music, wiggling her hips and tossing her head so hard that her hat flies off. Chelsey catches it and puts it back on Jaquie’s head, whispering “Oooh! Somebody’s staring at you!”

Jaquie whips around to see Rosa leaning against the far wall, her eyes wide. Jaquie grins. Another chance? She’ll take it.

Shimmying across the room, she moves her body, slow and sensual, her movements accenting her curves and the swish of her skirt- at least, she’s hoping that’s what they do. Jaquie makes eye contact with Rosa and bites her lip as she smiles. She notes Rosa’s blush with some satisfaction.

When she reaches the far wall, Rosa smiles and nods and excuses herself to find the bathroom.

Jaquie sighs, frustrated, and goes off in search of Peter. She hasn’t seen him in a while.

 

4.

Jaquie’s over there, talking to an already-drunk, weepy Peter Donaldson. Her hand is on his shoulder, and she’s looking at him with genuine, deep concern in her dark eyes.

Rosa scowls.

She still doesn’t trust Peter, after all the times her brother has called her to cry about how much he wanted Peter, how many times his hopes have been dashed. But somehow, the idea that Peter could be starting something with Jaquie doesn’t just annoy her on Balthazar’s behalf.

It’s actually kind of sweet, how good Jaquie is with Peter, and thinking the phrase “it’s actually kind of sweet” unironically- well, it kind of makes Rosa want to puke. She doesn’t think anything is _sweet_. She is worldly and above such nonsense, and- wow, okay, this guacamole’s not terrible. Maybe she’ll have some more, drown her sorrows. Jaquie seemed to like it earlier, anyway.

Rosa puts down her beer. Definitely time to cut herself off, she’s getting way too sappy. She gets up in search of some garbage to take to the kitchen. Playing hostess is a good distraction.

 

5.

“She likes you, you know,” says a deep, lazy voice, and Jaquie’s head snaps up.

She’d been taking a break from the action, leaning against the far kitchen wall, checking her phone. She hadn’t thought anyone was nearby. Jaquie looks up to find a very tall, blond, heavy-lidded man staring at her. She thinks his name might be… Kyle? Something like that…

“Rosa,” the man continues, unperturbed by Jaquie’s skeptical expression. “She likes you. I can tell.” He extends a large hand, and Jaquie shakes it.

“Kel Forester, Rosa’s flatmate,” says Kel. “She doesn’t like a lot of people, you know. You should go for it.”

“What are you, her wingman?” Jaquie teases.

“Her friend,” Kel replies simply, taking a swig from his beer. “She’s annoying when she’s bored. I think she needs someone new.”

“Jaquie Manders,” says Jaquie. “And thanks for the advice. I’ll… I’ll think about it.”

She doesn’t tell him about the warm, fierce bubble of hope that comes welling up in her chest at the thought that Rosa might be interested in her. She has a curious feeling that Kel already knows.

He’s a strange sort, she thinks, as the two of them lapse into companionable silence. She could be friends with him, if this Rosa thing works out. Jaquie likes a strange sort in a friend.

When Rosa enters the kitchen a few moments later, Jaquie loses her nerve and runs back into the crowd in the living room to hide. She can feel Kel’s smirk following her the whole way.

 

+1.

Rosa sighs, cleaning up someone’s spilled drink as the slurred speech and laughter of a group of drunken uni kids roils around her. She hates drunk people almost as much as she hates sober people, which is a lot.

Most of the rowdy folks have moved into the kitchen or disappeared to bedrooms to make out with people, and Balthazar is long gone to Zeb’s place. Rosa hopes he has fun, whatever he decides to do. Personally, she’s in favor of his moving on from Peter. This whole thing doesn’t seem to be doing either one of them any good.

Anyway, she’s enjoying a rare moment of peace, cleaning up the empty living room and wishing she was back on the Grecian coast with Graham, when a very drunk, giggling Costa McClure wanders in and collapses on the couch, declaiming Marlowe dramatically the whole time.

“Lord, what fools these mortals be!” he crows, letting his head fall onto the armrest of the couch with a thump. “…Ouch.”

“Me too, buddy,” Rosa says, patting the inebriated theatre man on the knee and returning to her cleaning.

“There you are,” says a familiar voice, maybe the only other person at this party who can hold her alcohol, Rosa thinks, impressed all over again. Jaquie plops down next to Costa and reaches up to shake his knee, the closest part she can reach. “Come on, no sleeping. I think it’s time we head home, _Costard_.”

“Don’t call me that,” Costa hisses, curling his long-legged self into a ball. Jaquie laughs.

Rosa looks up at her just in time to catch her at it, her amazing smile and shining eyes sending a thrill down Rosa’s spine. She hasn’t felt like this since that dancer she met on the beach in Tahiti. Now he was hot… and so is Jaquie, Rosa admits to herself. So is Jaquie. Damn it.

“Need some help with all that?” Jaquie asks, taking a stack of dirty plates Rosa left on the table nearby.

“I, uh… thanks,” Rosa sighs. “Do you think everyone had a good time?”

“I definitely did,” Jaquie says, grinning. “But you know what would really make the night complete?”

She looks over her shoulder to make sure Costa hasn’t followed, then eases the kitchen door shut.

“What’s that?” asks Rosa tiredly. Jaquie leans in close, the smell of salt and alcohol on her breath. “Oh,” Rosa breathes, closing the gap between them. “That.”

The kiss is heady with drink and laughter and heat, and Rosa can taste the waxy flavor of Jaquie’s bright pink lipstick, the lipstick she’s been wanting to feel under her mouth all night. It’s the same rush she gets from seeing a new country for the first time, kissing a new person, a person who makes all the cells of her body vibrate and crash together into something totally fresh and unheard of. It’s the rush of a new experience, something to contradict all the blank sameness of life-before-adventuring.

This is what she’s after, Rosa thinks as her hand finds its way into Jaquie’s beautiful, curly natural hair. This is what it’s all about. This is what she wants to be drunk on- and then Jaquie is pulling away and pressing a piece of paper into her hand.

“I have to go,” Jaquie whispers, a hair’s breadth away from Rosa’s ear. “Call me if you’re still in town tomorrow.”

And then she’s gone, and Rosa finds herself sitting on an empty kitchen floor, lost in a place she’s never been.

Until she hears the unmistakable sound of vomiting, coming from the direction of Peter’s room. Yeah, okay, romantic bubble popped. It’s stupid of her, really. Back to what she’s good at, her actual purpose for being at this kids’ party, anyway. Damage control.

Rosa slips the phone number into her jacket pocket. Yeah, she’ll still be in town tomorrow.

 

*******


End file.
